"We are very happy." A Belarusian couple received a kidney transplant from wife to husband
In Gdańsk, a Belarusian couple, the Khvastyonaks, underwent an operation during which one of Elena's kidneys was transplanted to her husband Siarhei, as his kidneys had almost failed. The transplantation was performed at a hospital in Gdańsk on March 18, Elena Khvastyonak told "Svaboda".
Elena and Siarhei. Photo from personal archive
"We are doing well. The operation was successful," she shared.
First, Elena was operated on – from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM, the interlocutor clarified. Then her husband was taken in, and his operation finished at 2:00 PM. The operations were performed under general anesthesia. In the evening, both of them had already regained consciousness. The couple is in different wards but managed to call each other.
"The doctors said that his new kidney started working immediately on the operating table. Everything should be fine. We feel good. We are lying down, sleeping. We are being given painkillers, surrounded by care and attention. Of course, we are very happy that everything went so well, without complications, that the path to the operation is already behind us and recovery is ahead!" Elena Khvastyonak said about the first hours after the kidney transplant.
The couple was admitted to the hospital two days before the operation, on March 16. As Elena previously recounted, during the operation, her kidney was to be removed laparoscopically, and extracted through an incision in the scar left after her C-section.
According to preliminary plans, Elena is expected to remain under observation in the hospital for about a week, and Siarhei for about two weeks. Further rehabilitation will likely take about a month for Elena and about three months for Siarhei. During this time, they will not be able to work. Belarusians have raised money for the family for this period. For the rest of their lives after the transplant, they will have to remain under the care of a nephrologist and undergo annual examinations.
Elena and Siarhei Khvastyonak. Photo from personal archive
Siarhei and Elena Khvastyonak are from Polatsk. They have lived in Gdańsk, Poland, for several years. They have been together for 25 years. They have two daughters in their family. Siarhei worked as a taxi driver in Poland, Elena as an accountant. After recovery, she will be looking for a new job.
Siarhei's kidney problems were discovered while he was still in Belarus. However, it was only about six months ago that he was diagnosed with almost complete kidney failure. The man was offered lifelong dialysis – a blood purification procedure that needs to be performed several times a week for several hours. Siarhei would not have been able to work on dialysis. The waiting list for a transplant from a deceased donor was too long. That's when Siarhei's wife offered to be a donor for him.
"I can't do otherwise. I can't watch him suffer. If I can help, why not? I will endure a month of pain. The main thing is that everything will get better for us afterward, that he will be healthy and cheerful. There is an understanding that we are together. And that we are nothing without each other. There are no options to abandon each other in trouble. I think if something like this happened to me, he would do the same," Elena said earlier.
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